The CANSO Global ATM Safety Conference was recently held in beautiful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, hosted by IDAC. The week was full of leading-edge information, interactive workshops and spirited discussion.

CANSO Director General Jeff Poole opened the safety conference by reviewing the crucial role that the Safety Standing Committee (SSC) plays in CANSO and the ATM industry. The SSC reported on achievements since the last conference; and the Safety Performance Measurement and Future SMS Development Workgroups reviewed key activities to agree the direction of future work. These discussions covered the CANSO Standard of Excellence in Safety Management Systems and related maturity assessment; safety performance benchmarking; top safety priorities and contributing factors; comparative analyses; common risk methodology; barrier-based risk; and safety culture/just culture.

The conference engaged participants with interactive sessions such as the Safety Poster Speed Chats. This is an innovative format for sharing safety knowledge and best practices by allowing participants to visit various safety stations to learn and ask questions about a specific safety topic. The conference also featured a live polling session using mobile devices to discern definitions and interpretations of runway incursion scenarios across CANSO Membership.

The SSC also discussed next steps toward the implementation of the CANSO Standard of Excellence in Air Navigation Services – Safety (SEANS-Safety) programme and came away with agreement on next steps pending approval by the CANSO ExCom and Annual General Meeting. The packed agenda also covered remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS); airport construction; human performance in the ATM workplace; and unstable approaches.

We are proud that the conference saw a significant increase in participation by our Associate Members, which presented new concepts, innovative technology and industry expertise for ANSPs to leverage. We look forward to working ever more closely with our Associates to help CANSO Member ANSPs meet and exceed operational demands and safety standards.

Finally, our thanks to HungaroControl for agreeing to host the 2016 Global ATM Safety Conference in stunning Budapest. We hope to see you there!

Click here to download the full version of this report. To access the conference papers, presentations and photos, please visit the ATM-Net event page.